WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. congressman who has been blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng's main champion in Washington said people working for New York University have tried to keep him from meeting Chen, barging into a meeting on Capitol Hill and pulling Chen out on one occasion.

Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng speaks to journalists following an appearance in New York May 3, 2013. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

U.S. Representative Chris Smith, an outspoken supporter of Chinese dissidents since the 1980s, described repeated instances of various people he says were from NYU interfering in his attempts to meet with Chen.

NYU spokesman John Beckman in an email vigorously disputed the assertion that its representatives may have been involved in improper interference or control of Chen during his meetings with lawmakers and others, stressing that anyone present was there to help Chen at his request.

The encounters took place both in Washington and at NYU. Chen has been a research fellow at NYU Law School since he flew to the United States in May 2012 after he escaped from house arrest in his village in Shandong province and took refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

Chen has accused NYU of asking him to leave because of "unrelenting pressure" from China. NYU denies this, saying that he is leaving because his fellowship for one year is ending. Some of Chen's supporters suggest NYU fears his strident public criticism of China will complicate the university's plans to build a campus in Shanghai - an assertion NYU has also dismissed.

"Every time I've met with him, except once, only because I insisted, there was always somebody from the university - I don't know who they are or who they are reporting to - taking notes on everything," Smith, a New Jersey Republican, said in an interview.

The one meeting Smith had without Chen being escorted was shortly after Chen received a human rights award on Capitol Hill on January 29. It took place in Smith's office in the Rayburn Office Building but it was interrupted and halted before Smith was ready, he said.

A lady who appeared to be Chinese "insisted on translating, and I said â€˜with all due respect, I want a little private time with the great Chen Guangcheng,' and I closed the door. She starts calling his phone over and over and over again, like four or five times," said Smith.

"And finally after a half hour, because I had asked for a half-hour meeting, my door flies open and she says â€˜the meeting's over and she grabs him by the arm and lifts him up," he said.

NYU's Beckman told Reuters any NYU staff accompanying Chen "were people who provided help to an individual who is blind, is unable to speak English, and was new to the U.S.; it seems very ungracious for their efforts on Mr. Chen's behalf to be tarnished in this way."

"The reality is that he's held many press conferences and interviews, attended congressional hearings, and is writing a book about his life, and all NYU has ever done has provided staff and support to facilitate his activities, wishes, schedule, and family," he said in the email.

Matt Dorf, a communications strategist who was hired by NYU to advise Chen in his first couple of months in the United States, said Chen himself made the decisions on who he would meet.

"If the congressman or others felt they did not have proper access to Chen Guangcheng it was because Chen Guangcheng had made a decision not to speak with them because he was controlling all of the meetings in his whole schedule," he said in reference to the period from May through July last year.

He also said that the only people he ever saw taking notes in meetings were Chen's wife and a translator.

A spokeswoman for Chen said he was not currently giving interviews. His eldest brother, Chen Guangfu, told Reuters that Chen told him that "at this stage, he can't comment on certain matters and that's why he's not answering the requests from many media organizations. He didn't say why."

The 60-year-old Smith, who has represented his central New Jersey district for 32 years, said he started working on human rights issues in 1982, focusing on Soviet Jewish refuseniks.

"Everything is about control," Smith said of dealing with NYU representatives when trying to arrange meetings with Chen. "It was that way throughout the whole process."

During another recent chat with Chen, Smith said, "I had two people there and they had note pads. I asked 'who are you reporting to?' and they wouldn't tell me."

"I don't find that friendly. I find that dangerous, in terms of Chen."

Smith, chairman of the House of Representatives subcommittee that monitors global human rights, said he has been able to talk to Chen by telephone, through a translator, with relative ease.

But Smith said he has had trouble meeting Chen in person as many as a dozen times, beginning with Chen's arrival at Newark Airport in May 2012 and "every trip I made up there" to NYU.

Dorf denied that Smith had difficulty gaining access to Chen when the Chinese dissident arrived at NYU after flying into the United States, saying it was the first meeting that Chen had, it lasted about half an hour, and the lawmaker's staff took photographs of them together.

Smith sees the situation differently: "There was this control the likes of which made me say 'Oh my God. What is going on here?'"

(With reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Martin Howell)

BEIJING (Reuters) - Courts in China's far western region of Xinjiang have sentenced 19 ethnic Uighurs to up to six years in jail for promoting racial hatred and religious extremism online, in the latest crackdown on what China sees as violent separatists.

All but one of those jailed were from the heavily Uighur southern part of Xinjiang, including eight from the old Silk Road city of Kashgar, the official Legal Daily reported on its website.

Many Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim people who call energy-rich Xinjiang home, chafe at Chinese government restrictions on their culture, language and religion. China says it grants them wide-ranging freedoms.

In one of the cases, the suspect went on illegal websites to download material which "whipped up religious fervour and preached 'holy war'" and "whipped up ethnic enmity", the Legal Daily said in its report late on Wednesday.

"This created a despicable effect on society," the newspaper said, citing the court ruling.

Another suspect was jailed for spreading materials from overseas via the Internet which "advocate religious extremism and terrorism", the newspaper added.

While the report did not specify the ethnicity of those jailed, their names and the location of the courts where they were sentenced indicated they were all Uighurs.

China accuses armed Uighur groups of having links to Central Asian and Pakistani Islamist militants, and of carrying out attacks to establish an independent state called East Turkistan.

Many rights groups say China overplays the threat posed to justify its tough controls in Xinjiang.

The region, which lies strategically on the borders of Central Asia, India and Pakistan, sees frequent outbreaks of ethnic violence.

In April, 21 people were killed in clashes near Kashgar, the deadliest unrest since July 2009, when nearly 200 people were killed in riots in the Xinjiang capital of Urumqi.

BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama used a speech in Berlin on Wednesday to call on Russia to revive the push for a world without nuclear weapons, offering to cut deployed nuclear arsenals by a third, but Moscow immediately poured scorn on his proposal.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel watches as U.S. President Barack Obama waves after giving a speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin June 19, 2013. REUTERS/Michael Kappeler/Pool

Speaking in Berlin where U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan gave rousing Cold-War speeches, Obama urged Russia to help build on the "New START" treaty that requires Moscow and Washington to cut stockpiles of deployed nuclear weapons to 1,550 each by 2018.

The speech, a day after Obama met Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit where they disagreed publicly about Syria, was given a frosty reception by Moscow which said it could "not take such proposals seriously" while Washington was beefing up its anti-missile defences.

"After a comprehensive review, I have determined that we can ensure the security of America and our allies, and maintain a strong and credible strategic deterrent, while reducing our deployed strategic nuclear weapons by up to one third," Obama said.

"I intend to seek negotiated cuts with Russia to move beyond Cold War nuclear postures," he said at the Brandenburg Gate, which once overlooked the Berlin Wall that divided the communist east and the capitalist west.

Russia says U.S. plans for anti-missile defences harm the goal of arms reduction by requiring Moscow to hold more missiles or lose its deterrent capability.

"How can we take the idea of strategic nuclear weapons reductions seriously when the United States is building up its ability to intercept these strategic nuclear weapons?" Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said.

Obama's vision of a "world without nuclear weapons" set out in a speech in Prague in 2009, three months into his presidency, earned him the Nobel Peace Prize. But his mixed results so far have fuelled criticism that the prize may have been premature.

Experts said reducing the nuclear arsenal makes strategic and economic sense. But Mark Fitzpatrick at the International Institute for Strategic Studies said Obama faces major obstacles "including a recalcitrant Russia and a reluctant Senate."

Following Obama's speech, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel outlined the change in nuclear strategy in a 10-page report to the U.S. Congress that called for the Pentagon to reduce its reliance on atomic weapons in military planning and boost the role of non-nuclear strike capability.

Hagel said in a speech later in Nebraska that the move followed a two-year review of the size and mission of U.S. nuclear force.

Putin, speaking in St. Petersburg minutes before Obama's speech, made no direct comment but voiced concern about U.S. missile defences and high-precision weapons. Body language between Obama and Putin was chilly when the two men met at the Group of Eight summit on Tuesday in Northern Ireland.

Moscow sees nuclear deterrents as the safeguard of national security. It is worried about the West's superior conventional weapons and NATO plans for a missile defence system in Europe.

"High-precision conventional weapons systems are being actively developed ... States possessing such weapons strongly increase their offensive potential," said Putin.

The chief of the Russian military's general staff appears reluctant to negotiate a new nuclear deal and Russian foreign policy expert Fyodor Lukyanov described Obama's desire to "go to zero globally" as totally unacceptable in Russia.

REPUBLICANS OPPOSED

Obama will also target reductions in U.S. and Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Europe and host a summit in 2016 on securing nuclear materials and preventing nuclear terrorism. He hosted such a meeting in 2010, a second was held in Seoul in 2012 and Obama will attend a third in The Hague next year.

When they met at the G8 summit, Putin and Obama signed a new agreement on securing nuclear material left over from the Cold War, replacing the 1992 Nunn-Lugar agreement that expired on Monday.

That was "the kind of constructive, cooperative relationship that moves us out of a Cold War mindset", Obama said afterwards.

Early initiatives of Obama's presidency led to the New START treaty plus measures to bolster the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a new effort to secure nuclear materials worldwide, but that push has flagged in the face of political realities.

But Obama said the United States and Russia were on track to cut deployed nuclear warheads "to their lowest levels since the 1950s" and said a framework was being forged to counter what he called Iran and North Korea's "nuclear weaponisation".

Iran denies it is seeking nuclear weapons. North Korea has tested nuclear devices.

Obama also wants to see negotiations on a treaty to end the production of fissile materials for weapons.

Experts and advocacy groups described Obama's initiative as "long overdue" and the reduction targets as modest.

"The one-third cuts outlined by the President are but 200-300 warheads fewer than the United States was prepared to agree to during the New START negotiations four years ago," said Daryl Kimball of the Arms Control Association in Washington.

"The U.S. could have gone much lower and maintained deterrence," said Jon Wolfsthal, a former special advisor to the vice president on nuclear security and non proliferation. He saw little chance of success in the face of political opposition.

"Our experience has been that nuclear arsenals - other than ours - are on the rise," said Jim Inhofe, the top Republican on the Senate's Armed Services Committee, pointing to Iran and North Korea.

"A country whose conventional military strength has been weakened due to budget cuts ought not to consider further nuclear force reductions while turmoil in the world is growing."

Catching up with Kaley Cuoco on the latest season of The Big Bang Theory.

WHEN The Big Bang Theory premiered in 2007, some critics were unkind towards the show's brand of nerdy humour, claiming that it mercilessly "clubs audience over the head with the same that's-how-nerdy-they-are jokes". They thought it was lame and wanted it dead.

The primetime sitcom focuses on the daily lives of brainy housemates Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), a theoretical physicist with an IQ of 187, and Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), an experimental physicist with an IQ of 173.

The nerds and their equally nerdy friends – aerospace engineer Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) and astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar) – are such geeks that no conversation is complete without one of them referencing lines from Star Wars, Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica. And no ... they're not exactly hot stuff in the chick department, either.

Adding to the mix is the ditzy (and literally) girl-next-door Penny (Kaley Cuoco), who is Sheldon's usual pain-in-the-neck and the others' object of desire. Critics weren't too happy with the character. One even described Penny as "bland".

Well, now it seems Cuoco (and the rest of the cast and crew) is having the last laugh. The show is now one of the most successful American sitcoms around, having won numerous awards.

The latest one is the recent 2013 Critics' Choice Awards, where both Helberg and Cuoco won the Best Supporting Actor and Actress awards, respectively. The show was also named Best Comedy Series.

In an interview transcript provided by HyppTV, Cuoco mentions that she has always had a feeling that the show would be successful.

"I knew it from the very first episode. I knew we'd created something funny and entertaining and different. We had an incredible cast and funny stories to tell ... I had a feeling that it was all going to work out. Thankfully, I was right," said Cuoco.

Perhaps, she's the real genius here. The Big Bang Theory is now in its sixth season and much has changed sincethe show first aired.

For starters, Sheldon is now in a relationship with Amy (Mayim Bialik), a neuroscientist. Cuoco shares her opinion on Penny's budding friendship with Amy.

"Amy is a good friend and she always wants to help. Some people think there's a little bit more to the relationship, but I'm not sure about that.

"However, I know Amy literally likes being the shoulder Penny cries on. It's very sweet. Penny can rely on her."

The series also focuses on Penny's on-off relationship with Leonard. Their relationship took off in Season Three and the lovebirds' biggest problem is their insecurities.

"Oh, there's always a problem with those two – but that's part of the fun of the show. At the end of day, I think they're just really good friends for now. That's what I honestly believe.

"Down the line, like at the end of the show, I really hope they are together – but right now, I think it's probably not right for them," said Cuoco.

The actress feels that the character needs some time off from the fiery relationship.

"Penny dating (other guys) ... that would be fun. She hasn't really done that in a very long time, so it would be cool to see it on the show."

Apart from relationships, Cuoco also hopes the show will finally introduce Penny's mother – the only parent who has yet to make an appearance.

"I think Lisa Kudrow is at the perfect age to play Penny's mother because the character is just like a little Lisa. I see her hitting on all the guys. That would be so much fun! She could arrive on the show as a 'cougar' but you'd get the feeling this has happened many times before."

Considering Penny's sibling issues – she once described her brother who operates a meth lab as "kind of a chemist" – her idea to have a "troubled" mother makes sense.

"All the siblings are so messed up with parole and other nonsense. You have to have a reason behind where that comes from: Their mother."

The Big Bang Theory is filmed in front of a live studio audience, and the show is known for its sharp writing and hilarious banter between the characters.

However, there are moments when a joke falls flat and Cuoco reveals how the writers "fix" such nerve-wracking moments.

"Some jokes just don't work and you get stuck in the middle of the scene waiting for laughs that are never going to happen. You think to yourself, 'well, that didn't work'."

She added, "You just keep going. You carry on with the scene, but as soon as you stop – the writers jump into action. You'll see 30 people running from out of the darkness with 30 new ideas."

The writers would have it all figured out and eventually get the desired effect on the audience.

"In the end, they always get a laugh. The writers know what they're doing and they know what's funny. We rarely get killed on a joke. It just doesn't happen."

Catch the latest season of The Big Bang Theoryon Warner TV (HyppTV Ch 613) every Wednesday at 9.30pm.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's FBM KLCI fell nearly 10 points in early trade, reflecting the cautious key regional markets, after the US Federal Reserve said it would begin slowing the pace of its bond-buying stimulus later this year.

At 9.02am, the KLCI was down 9.85 points to 1,763.03. Turnover was 66.90 million shares valued at RM21.86mil. There were 35 gainers, 158 losers and 94 counters unchanged.

Reuters reported Japan's Nikkei share average fell on Thursday after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke confirmed market fears that the U.S. central bank could trim its bond buying programme later this year.

The Nikkei 225 dropped 1.1% at 13,100.86, while the broader Topix shed 0.8% to 1,097.75.

KUALA LUMPUR: The excitement at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday morning was palpable as coach Paul Revington returned to train the national hockey team.

The national team are preparing for the World League semi-finals, which will be held at the Taman Daya Stadium in Johor Baru from June 29-July 7.

The 40-year-old Revington, who was hired as national coach last September, said that it was "enjoyable" to be back to train the national team since he quit last Saturday.

"The players were shocked when I quit the national team. Some of them could not believe it. But they were glad to see me return to training today (yesterday)," said the South African, who quit due to outside interference.

Revington, whose contract expires in September next year, shocked the entire nation when he e-mailed his resignation to Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) coaching committee chairman Manjit Majid Abdullah last Saturday.

But the committee rejected his resignation.

Revington said that the meeting with Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin on Monday and National Sports Council (NSC) director general Datuk Zolkples Embong on Tuesday was fruitful.

"Almost 85% of the problems have been settled. But a meeting with the MHC president will be good to resolve the matter," said Revington, who added that he would decide on his future after the World League semi-finals.

What was surprising about Revington's resignation was his timing, having named 16 players for the World League semi-finals just a day earlier.

Revington will name two more players tomorrow and the team will leave for Johor Baru to train at the Taman Daya Stadium on Monday.

Malaysia will play two friendlies against Argentina and Germany on June 25 and June 26 respectively before opening their Group B campaign against Pakistan on June 29.

Their other group matches are against South Africa (June 30) and England (July 2).

Group A comprises world No. 1 Germany, South Korea, Argentina and Japan.

The World League semi-finals offers the teams a chance to qualify for next year's World Cup in The Hague, Holland.

KUALA LUMPUR: Diminutive forward Faizal Saari will have to shoulder the responsibility of getting the goals in the World League semi-finals at the Taman Daya Stadium in Johor Baru from June 29-July 7.

The 23-year-old Tenaga Nasional player is a two-time top scorer in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) – last year (20 goals) and in 2011 (19 goals).

And it will be up to him to deliver the goals – field and penalty corner – to help Malaysia qualify for next year's World Cup in The Hague, Holland.

Eight teams, divided into two groups, will feature in the tournament and top three teams will qualify for the World Cup.

It won't be easy for Malaysia though they are ranked 13th in the world.

Malaysia, who last qualified on merit for the World Cup in Utrecht, Holland in 1998, are in Group B of the World League semi-finals with world No. 4 England, Pakistan (No. 5) and South Africa (No. 12).

World No. 1 Germany are in Group A with South Korea (No. 8), Argentina (No. 10) and Japan (No.16).

Faizal, of Terengganu, admitted that it would be a daunting task for them to finish in the top three and earn an automatic spot in the World Cup.

"We have to play well in all three matches to finish top two in the group so that we'll face an easier opponent in the quarter-finals," said the skilful Faizal, who scored 17 goals in the MHL, which ended last month.

"Although all the other three teams in our group are ranked higher than us, we will go all out to get the better of them,"

Malaysia will open the campaign against Pakistan on June 29. The last time these two teams met – in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh in March – they drew 2-2.

The national team played four Test matches against South Africa last month in Ransburg, with Malaysia drawing one – 4-4 – and losing three – 2-1, 3-2, 3-1.

Ahsan-Setiawan, boosted by winning the Indonesian Open last week, easily won 21-19, 21-12 to set up a second round clash against Taiwan's Lee Sheng Mu-Tsai Chia Hsin.

"V Shem-Khim Wah played well in the first game and were excellent at mid-courts. They were leading all the way but ran out of luck at the end ... often hitting the net," explained national doubles chief coach Tan Kim Her.

"Ahsan-Setiawan then upped the pace in the second game and controlled it right from the start.

"It's disappointing but they tried their best. Now, I just have to properly prepare them for the World Championships (in August)."

In the women's singles, youngster Sonia Cheah's inexperience saw her throw away a one-game lead to lose 21-17, 9-21, 17-21 to world No. 6 Sung Ji-hyun of South Korea.

Women's doubles shuttler Lim Yin Loo, however, brought joy to the Malaysian camp with two wins.

Disney's first teaser trailer for the film, which draws on Hans Christian Andersen's tale The Snow Queen, shows a scene that focuses on a big misunderstanding between a snowman and a reindeer, fighting over a carrot.

Nearly 25 years after its version of The Little Mermaid (1989), Disney returns to the works of the Danish author to create this 3D animated movie about Anna, the Ice Princess (voiced by Kristen Bell), on a quest to find her sister, the Snow Queen (voiced by Idina Menzel), who has accidentally triggered eternal winter.

Police officer John Cale has just been denied his dream job with the Secret Service. Not wanting to let down his little girl with the news, he takes her on a tour of the White House, when the complex is overtaken by a heavily armed paramilitary group. Now, with the nation's government falling into chaos and time running out, it's up to Cale to save the president, his daughter, and the country.

White House Down stars Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx. The movie opens in cinemas on 27 June. Thanks to Buena Vista Columbia Tristar Films we have 50 pairs of tickets to give away.

All you have to do is print this page and bring it along with you to our redemption table at TGV 1 Utama. Please see details below.

Please note that tickets will be given on a first come, first served basis. Each person will be given only one pair of tickets.

Redemption Details

Date: 26 June 2013 (Wednesday)

Time: 8.30pm till tickets are collected

Venue: TGV 1 Utama

Screening Details

Date: 26 June 2013 (Wednesday)

Time: 9.15pm

Venue: TGV 1 Utama

Rules & Regulations

1. This redemption is open to all eCentral fans.

2. Print out the contest page and redeem it at the venue given in this article.

3. Each page entitles you to two movie tickets only. Each person is allowed to redeem only once.

4. Tickets are given out on a first come, first served basis.

5. Queue-jumping and reserving places in line during the redemption are strictly prohibited. The organizers reserve the right to refuse tickets to anyone found doing so.

6. Tickets are not exchangeable for cash.

7. This movie is not yet rated.. Movie ratings will strictly apply for this movie. The organizers reserve the right to refuse entry to the cinema hall to those not within the permitted age limit. No exceptions will be made at any time for any reason.

8. I hereby expressly consent to the collection, collation, use and/or disclosure of all my personal data by Star Publications (M) Berhad for the purposes of the White House Down contest.

Columbia Pictures has already scheduled the releases of the third and fourth chapters of The Amazing Spider-Man.

As long as no major issue is encountered, Andrew Garfield's version of Spider-Man will continue his adventures until 2018. The Amazing Spider-Man 3 will be released in theaters on June 20, 2016 in North America. The fourth chapter will come out nearly two years later, on May 4, 2018.

This announcement proves Columbia Pictures' faith in Marc Webb, the young director who succeeds Sam Raimi in helming the Spider-Man franchise.

The studio also mark the several blockbuster releases in the coming summers and indicates that it's far from ready to give back the cinematic rights to the superhero -- which they've held since 1999 -- to Marvel.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will come out on the big screen next May 2 in North America.

Andrew Garfield will be seen once more as Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man. That movie will focus on his relationship with Mary Jane Watson (Shailene Woodley), and the hero will have to face The Green Goblin (Chris Cooper), Electro (Jamie Foxx) and the Rhino (Paul Giamatti) in his fight for justice.

SIBU: More than 600 people were left with only the clothes on their backs, after a fire razed more than 100 houses in Kampung Datuk, one of the oldest Malay villages in Sarawak, Wednesday.

Sibu Fire and Rescue station chief Mutalib Jaafar said the fire broke out about 4pm and 47 firemen from two stations here and Kanowit took five hours to douse the flame.

"We have yet to receive reports of any casualty in the incident and are investigating the cause of the fire," he said.

Meanwhile, Kampung Datuk chief Hussain Abdul Rasit said about 600 people had been registered as victims in the fire and they were given temporary accommodation at the hall of SK Abang Ali nearby. - Bernama

KOTA KINABALU: A 50-year-old tourist from Hong Kong is in critical condition after the car he was driving to the airport here was rammed by a Sabah State Railway train Wednesday evening.

Police said initial investigations showed that Eddie Lok Wing Tak was in the car with three others when the guard at a crossing in Jalan Lintas gave the signal to stop for the approaching train, at 5.40pm.

However, he did not manage to brake on time.

The impact also caused the car to crash into another vehicle in front. The couple and their one-year-old child in that vehicle were unhurt.

Kota Kinabalu city police chief Assist Comm Jauteh Dikun said Lok was reported to be in critical condition, while the rest received outpatient treatment.

"All four - two men and two women - were on their way to the airport to return to Hong Kong when the accident happened," he said.

Firemen had to be called extract Lok as he was trapped in the badly-damaged vehicle.

FEDERAL Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said illegal hawkers bearing letters of endorsement or support from political parties will no longer be entertained by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).

Tengku Adnan said these letters of support would not stop DBKL enforcement officers from carrying out their duties.

"I have given instructions that if the stalls are illegal, action will be taken against them.

"We will take action as per rules and regulations, irrespective of any surat sokongan (letters of endorsement) from any political party,'' he added.

The interaction between mind and body is an important subject which is currently not given the consideration it deserves.

MANY doctors look for physical causes when treating diseases of the body. There is also a common tendency to classify illnesses into those with physical causes and those with psychological ones.

This encapsulates the tendency to compartmentalise the problems of the "mind" and the "body" separately; any inter-relationship is frequently ignored.

The clear-cut division of "mind" and "body" is an over-simplification and regularly leads to the wrong conclusion being drawn.

While the "mind" and the "body" may appear to be separate, they are in fact, a single entity. A simple analogy would be to think of them as two sides of a coin. Expressions such as "feeling butterflies in one's stomach" or "having a gut-wrenching experience" are often used, reflecting the intuitive notion that there is a link between the mind and the gut.

Indeed, the digestive system houses a complex array of millions of neurons, and this system is so sophisticated that it will continue to work even if it is no longer connected to the brain.

The two-way link between the brain and the digestive system has been at the core of much research and discussion over the past quarter of a century.

For example, studies have confirmed that the inability to handle stressful life events, like the loss of family members and bullying at school, can be associated with symptoms such as recurrent abdominal pain in children. These events can also lead to poor academic performance and poor self-image.

A patient who discovers that he has a serious illness often suffers a profound shock, which has major effects on his mental state, possibly leading to depression.

Conversely, stress can exacerbate symptoms of physical diseases like asthma or inflammatory bowel disease and severe emotional turmoil can precipitate cardiac arrest in an adult with heart disease.

Generally, if a child is ill, a negative mental outlook can place more stress on the body, thus increasing susceptibility to other illnesses as the body's resistance may be compromised.

In contrast, having a positive mindset often speeds up the healing process.

It is important that a paediatrician carry out a thorough assessment of any child with symptoms like abdominal pain to look for causes that need immediate medical treatment, such as urinary tract infections.

On the other hand, if your child has recurring symptoms and your doctor has not been able to find any causes for it after detailed examination and relevant investigations, there is a possibility that it is a subconscious cry for help.

School refusal, frequent displays of irritability, sudden drop in grades, difficulty sleeping and unexplained bouts of crying could also be your child's silent call for help.

Spend time with your child and listen to him/her in order to better understand his/her anxieties, fears and worries. If any of the symptoms last for more than a week or two and interfere with regular activities (including family or school life), it would be wise to seek professional help.

Neither an atmosphere of over-pampering nor one of excessive scolding would be conducive to a child's growth and mental health. Children are emotionally more sensitive to disparaging comments than adults. Therefore, it is important to create a climate of encouragement.

A book entitled The Inner Philosopher by Professor of Philosophy Lou Marinoff and Soka Gakkai International President Daisaku Ikeda highlights the importance of sincere and positive praise in childhood education.

In this book, the authors relate how the great cellist Gregor Piatigorsky was encouraged by Pablo Casals. Piatigorsky had been so nervous when he played as a student for the great musician Casals that he froze and performed badly. Convinced he had played poorly, Piatigorsky was surprised by Casals, who embraced him and praised his performance.

Deeply encouraged, Piatigorsky overcame his weaknesses and went on to become a great cellist.

In the book, Professor Lou Marinoff comments: "Among the first duties of parents and teachers alike is encouragement of talents and correction of errors. But the second of these duties is almost always most effectively accomplished in a climate of encouragement rather than disparagement. Therefore, we should begin by praising the child or the student with respect to whatever he or she is doing correctly and well."

Dr Daisaku Ikeda adds: "An authoritarian approach – forcing children to do as you say or to make them conform to certain preconceived standards – only provokes rebelliousness. Though you may succeed in gaining their superficial obedience, it's very difficult under those circumstances to enable children to freely manifest their full potential.

"It's very important to discover, encourage and praise the positive aspects – even just one – of the generations who follow us. We must foster young people's confidence in themselves."

Dr Christopher Boey Chiong Meng is a professor of paediatrics. This article is a courtesy of Malaysian Paediatric Association's Positive Parenting Programme. The opinion expressed in the article is the views of the author. For more information, please visit www.mypositiveparenting.org.

JOHOR BARU: Many have began stocking up on face masks in view of the haze to prevent from falling sick.

An assistant at a pharmacy in Jalan Maju here, Jeff Liang, said sale of disposable masks increased two-fold from the usual amount due to the bad air quality of late caused by open burning in Sumatra, Indonesia.

"Most customers are coming in to buy masks as they are worried of inhaling too much of hazy air, which can cause breathing difficulties especially those with sensitive noses and asthma," he said here yesterday.

He said the outlet sold standard three-ply masks in packs of 10 for RM8 each and RM4 for a pack of five.

Liang added that the outlet would not jump on the bandwagon like other pharmacies by hiking up the price of masks to take advantage of the situation.

A salesgirl, who declined to be named, at a pharmacy in a shopping complex along Jalan Tebrau said they would stock up on masks if the air quality continued to worsen in the next couple of days.

"So far, customers are only buying one or two pieces at a time but sales are expected to pick up if the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading hits an unhealthy level," she said.

Checks by StarMetro at another pharmacy in Taman Sentosa here found that the price of disposable mask was sold at around RM5 per piece two years ago when the API reading was in the unhealthy category, according to the Department of Environment (DOE).

According to the DOE website, four main areas in the state have recorded unhealthy API readings with the highest being Pasir Gudang with an API of 153, Larkin Lama at 125 and Kota Tinggi at 118.

KOTA TINGGI: A group of 10 illegal immigrants tried to outsmart the authorities by attempting to illegally escape the country during a recent fishing tournament in Tanjung Sedili here.

The men, however, could not slip past the sharp eyes of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) who noticed them and made the arrest while the tournament was going on.

MMEA maritime Tanjung district operations director commander Mustafa Kamal Abas said the boat ferrying the illegal immigrants was spotted by the agency along Tanjung Sedili waters at around 7.45am.

"The group thought they were making a smart move by trying to escape unnoticed during the fishing competition which was organised by the Rural and Regional Development Ministry," he said, adding that the agency had stationed its vessel to ensure the safety of the fishermen throughout the competition.

"Within minutes, our vessel managed to stop the boat and further inspection found the illegal immigrants, aged between 19 and 55 years, sandwiched among each other in the boat," he said.

Mustafa added that all of the illegal immigrants were then brought to the MMEA Tanjung Sedili jetty for investigations and the agency also seized the 16m-long fibre boat together with its three 200 horsepower Yamaha engines.

He said MMEA was investigating the case under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (Amendment 2010) and the Immigration Act 1959/63.

Mustafa added that initial investigations revealed that the illegal immigrants had wanted to leave Malaysia through an uncharted route.

"To stamp out smuggling especially human trafficking activities, MMEA has increased its patrol and surveillance along the Tanjung Sedili waters until Pengerang near here," he said.

JOHOR BARU: A beverage company suffered some 30% drop in sales after ceasing the usage of pearl balls in their blended flavoured drinks for a few days due to maleic acid contamination in the starch-based pearls.

Each-A-Cup Sdn Bhd business development manager for Malaysia Clement Low said the company had recalled about 200 cartons of pearls weighing 20kg each after receiving a circulation from the Heath Ministry dated June 8.

He said although the letter from the ministry only warned against the usage of the pearls with an expiry date of July 3, 2013, the company opted to immediately stop all usage of pearls at its 100 outlets nationwide.

"We would like to express our regret that test reports showed that some of our stock imported from Taiwan did contain maleic acid and we apologise to our customers for our negligence," he said at a press conference here recently.

It was reported on May 29 that the ministry had suspended the import of 11 Taiwanese starch-based products after Singaporean authorities discovered maleic acid in some tapioca pearls or balls used in the popular "bubble tea" drink.

Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority had found maleic acid in 11 starch-based products from Taiwan and had withdrawn them from the market.

The announcement was following Taiwanese company Sunright Foods Corporation tapioca pearls that had been recalled after Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) discovery of maleic acid in them.

Meanwhile, Low added that the company had since switched suppliers and were now using pearls brought in from a Singaporean supplier which was approved by the ministry.

"We have run a few tests on the new product on top of that done by the ministry and we assure our customers that the pearls used as of June 13 are maleic acid-free," he said.

Low also said that the company promised to run tests on each batch of pearls for maleic acid to ensure safe consumption.

He added that the test reports of each batch of shipment of the pearls would be uploaded on its official website www.each-a-cup.com for public reference.